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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/06/1978CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 6, 1978 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, November 6, 1978 at 7:30 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, William Burgess, Kenneth Jarvis Member Absent Martin Paulsen Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Albert Audette, John Larkin, Richard Tarrant, William Schuele, George Bosworth, Ingrid Meador, William Meador, Roy Case, Gordon O'Brien, Pauline O'Brien, Ken O'Brien, Erwin Valgoi, Robert Methot, James Lamphere, John Wood, William Fisk. Lowell Krassner, Peter Collins, Fran Brock, Free Press Minutes of October 16, 1978 Mr. Jarvis moved to accept the minutes of October 16, 1978. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Consider relief for two residents on Sebring Road with a sewer problem B. Szymanski told the Council that Messrs. Case and Meador, at 10 and 12 Sebring Road had had a consistent sewer problem for the past 10 or 12 years. The sewage backs up into both homes. He explained that the main had a very gradual slope at that point and that any blockage of the main caused sewage to back into the homes. Mr. Meador said they had had this problem for 10 years and have spent about $400 trying to clean it up. The money did not bother him as much as the constant aggravation. Mr. Case said that his home was built in 1968 and that he has the problem about two times a year. When the sewer lines went out to the street. Mr. Case said, an engineer came over to inspect them and he told Mr. Case that the line from the curb to the main had a break, which he then repaired. The line was thus operating in 1968 after having been fixed. B. Szymanski said the problem lay in the fact that there was not enough pitch from the homes to the line and that the solution was to increase the grade or put pumping facilities in the homes. These two homes have the problem because they are the lowest ones in the area. B. Szymanski felt that another problem was that there was not a lot of flow in the area and that would have helped keep the lines clear. He felt the least expensive solution would be the pumping stations for each home. B. Szymanski also mentioned that the footing drains for these homes were tied into the sewer lines, which had been all right at the time it was done. Mr. Case said he had not put in any facilities which used water in the basement, so all his water came from the first floor, which was a good drop, but he still got the backup. P. Farrar wanted to know whether the problem would just move to the next higher homes if it were fixed with these homes and was told it might. B. Szymanski told the Council that because of the footing drains, a lot of silt was deposited in the mains and because of the small amount of flow, it did not get cleaned out. Mr. Audette, from the Street Department, said they would like to clean it every 2 months now that they have a new machine to do that and he added that in the past they used to do it 1 or 2 times per year. B. Burgess asked if the footing drains could be changed but was told that rainwater would then go into the basements. P. Farrar asked B. Szymanski if he thought this was a city problem, and was told he was not sure of that. M. Flaherty moved to direct the City Manager to take whatever action he feels is necessary to correct the sewer problem and to bring to the Council at the next meeting a proposal and its cost. He is also directed to look at the budget in an effort to find items which could be deferred to make room for the cost of this project. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion. B. Szymanski's ballpark figure for a pumping station was $1500. B. Burgess asked that B. Szymanski look into whether the solution might be to take out the footing drains and divert that water to the nearest storm water system. Mr. Schuele suggested that after they figure out what the problem is they pass it to the Planning Commission so the same error does not occur in the future. The motion passed unanimously. Public hearing - second reading of amendment to the City Sewer Ordinance P. Farrar read the proposed amendment (see attached copy). B. Burgess moved that the Council approve the second reading of this ordinance. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted aye. Pending Interim Zoning Application of Warren Young for mobile food service at 1830 Shelburne Road M. Flaherty moved that the South Burlington City Council approve the conditional use application of Warren Young, 1830 Shelburne Road allowing for the operating of a mobile food service, according to the proposal of record, based on the following findings and subject to the following stipulations: Findings The proposed use is consistent with the health, safety and welfare of the City of South Burlington and standards 2, 3 and 4 of section 5 of the Interim Zoning Regulations. The proposed use is consistent with standards 1 and 5 based on the evidence submitted by the applicant that the proposed use will have no adverse impact on the city. Traffic should not increase, intended customers will be those people using the services provided by the existing gasoline station. Stipulations 1. Any additional signs shall be erected in conformance with the City Sign Regulations. 2. Hours of operation shall be the same as those of the service station and shall operate in conjunction with the service station. 3. The proposed use shall be strictly a take-out operation, with no outside sitting involved. 4. This approval is limited to the use proposal and shall expire six months from this date (for commencement of this use). K. Jarvis seconded the motion. B. Burgess moved that stipulation #1 be changed to include the words "and shall be limited to a menu board attached to the vehicle." K. Jarvis seconded this motion, which passed unanimously. The motion passed with all in favor. Public hearing on Conditional Use applications within Interim Zoning District Gordon O'Brien, Auto Body Repair, rear 490 Shelburne Road Mr. O'Brien said that he had a new garage he wanted to use for his vehicles and in which his son hopes to operate a small body shop of his own. He will only have the vehicles he is working on parked there and that number should not exceed two. All the work will take place in the garage. The O'Briens said the work would not be messy or dirty because of the motel they run - they have to keep the area neat. They did not think there would be more than one or two vehicles in there per week and they said that the garage was there now so the appearance of the yard would not change very much. P. Farrar asked if it would be reasonable to put a time limit on the approval of 1 or two years and was told that would be all right. M. Flaherty moved to close the public hearing and K. Jarvis seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Richard Tarrant, 17 residential units, south side Kennedy Drive Mr. Tarrant said the land was near the Georgetown apartment complex, although the land did not abut that land. The area is zoned R7 and the proposal is for 17 residential units on 2 1/2 acres of land. There is a ravine between this land and the adjoining parcel. 34 parking spaces will be provided. Mr. Tarrant apologized that the traffic study for this project had not been completed for this meeting but said they would submit it when it was finished, which they hoped would be soon. He said they would hook into city water and sewer lines, preferably from across the street if and when they go in there, and if they cannot get it from across the street, they will go down Hinesburg Road. Mr. Tarrant was asked to go to the School Board for their approval. The units will be two bedrooms. The layout conforms to the setback requirements. K. Jarvis moved to continue the public hearing until the applicant is ready to present the additional data. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion, and all were in favor. Fernand LaJeunesse, Restaurant and Catering Service, 35 White St. Mr. Peter Collins represented Mr. LaJeunesse and said that the proposal concerned land formerly owned by Nor Co Auto Parts between Williston Road and White Street. The lot is quite large and the buildings take up little of that space. He said that Mr. La Jeunesse wanted to have a take-out chicken and catering business set up there. There will be no on site eating at all. The garage on the property will be used to house the bus used for catering when that is not in use and the smaller building will be where the food service will be located. No vehicles other than those of the 3 employees and Mr. LaJeunesse will be parked outside. Mr. Collins said that Mr. LaJeunesse would be very happy and could make a good profit if he had 75 cars per day come into the lot. He noted that the past use had attracted 110 cars per day so this would be less traffic impact. Mr. Collins told the Council that the hours of operation of the business would be from 10 am to 10 pm and he did not believe there would be a parking problem since the lot was so large. There will be no exterior changes other than a new coat of paint. All changes will be to the interior of the building. The parking lot is not lined off but Mr. Collins felt there was room for 90-100 cars to park in it. Mr. LaJeunesse said that the curb cuts on Williston Road and White Street made this an ideal location for the business and he felt people would be more likely to use the curb cut on White Street when Williston Road was crowded. Mr. Collins did not think this business would change the character of the neighborhood, which is commercial and he noted that an auto parts shop had been there before and this might enhance the area. He did not feel there would be an adverse impact on the city services because of this business - there will not be a lot of water or sewer use. Mr. Collins felt this plan was an improvement over the last plan, which called for Mr. LaJeunesse to work out of McIntosh Avenue. M. Flaherty asked about the nature of the service and was told it would be similar to a pizza take-out service where a person could order a pizza and have it delivered to his home. Mr. LaJeunesse estimated that people would take out 3-4 servings per car if they picked the food up themselves. The catering bus would be used for larger events, such as football games and catering. B. Burgess asked what kind of food would be sold over the counter at this location and was told it would be chicken, grinders, soda, etc. He then asked if the applicant could back up claim of 75 cars per day. Mr. Collins said he had asked for traffic data but that this was a new business and a new type of business and nobody could project traffic under those conditions. Mr. LaJeunesse felt there would be rush hours for the business from 11am to 1 pm and from 5 pm to 7 pm. He said they would be open 7 days per week. Mr. LaJeunesse was asked about an approval which limited the entrance and exit to White Street and he replied that that might be detrimental to the business, might cause more accidents, and would take away flexibility. Mr. Collins added that customers would probably take the path of least resistance anyway. Mr. Erwin Valgoi said that he was the owner of the adjacent motel, The Swiss Host. His main concern, he said, was that he needed quiet for the people sleeping in the motel and he did not like the 10 pm closing hour, feeling it was too late. Cars will still be going in and out of the chicken business at that hour, which he felt would hamper his operation. He also took issue with the 75 car per day figure, noting that that might be how many were expected, but if 300 showed up, Mr. LaJeunesse would take all of them too. Mr. Valgoi did not want to see the business go in. He noted that people would be free to eat in their cars in the lot if they wished, and they might leave a lot of garbage around, which would look bad and be bad for Mr. Valgoi's business. Mr. Collins replied that noise was a valid concern but that the fact that there would be no eating on the premises would help the noise stay low. He pointed out that the motel now was right on Williston Road, and that was not quiet. Mr. Collins did not think any of this businesses noise would hurt the motel business. He also noted that it was Mr. LaJeunesse's business to police his grounds and keep them free of garbage and that if he did not do so, there were remedies. Mr. Valgoi said that 9 of his units were right next to this lot in question and he noted that when Kentucky Fried Chicken had wanted to build they had not been given a variance because of the smell and the traffic impact. He felt this business could turn into a large traffic operation and there were no guarantees to him or the city that there would only be 75 cars per day. Mr. Lowell Krassner said that the hours of operation to 10 pm and the selling of canned soda inside might encourage people to eat in their cars in the lot but Mr. Collins did not think that was likely because the atmosphere would be better elsewhere. B. Burgess suggested that the applicants talk to Kentucky Fried Chicken in order to obtain some firmer car counts, which the Council needs to have. Mr. Collins was not sure that was the same type of business and felt 75 was a low count. It was noted that the business could be allowed on an interim basis and that Mr. LaJeunesse could come back later with accurate car counts and any problems could be reviewed at that time. M. Flaherty moved to close the public hearing. B. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Thomas Farrell, Distribution Center, northerly side of Holmes Road Mr. James Lamphere spoke to the appeal. He said the request was for permission to build a warehouse adjacent to the railroad tracks in order to have rail service. The only way this business can operate is to have access to a siding. The entrance to the building would be from Holmes Road. As far as traffic impact, this facility is presently located in Winooski and car counts from that location show that they have 10-15 cars per hour during the peak periods of 7:30 am to 9 am and from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. This is strictly a wholesale operation but it is critical that they have rail access. Mr. Lamphere said he knew the city was looking at a proposed Southern Connector location in the area and he hoped that the committee would reach a speedy decision so the building could go ahead. The business needs to have another operation going by next June. P. Farrar suggested that the hearing be continued to the next meeting so the city could talk to the State Highway Department about this proposal. Mr. Lamphere said the Master Plan showed the Connector in a location where it would not interfere with this project. In response to a question from Mr. Szymanski, Mr. Lamphere said the parking lot could be moved if the city requested that. He noted that there had been some discussion of moving the building away from the tracks but that was not feasible because of the grade the siding would have to make to the building. B. Burgess moved to continue the public hearing to the next regularly scheduled meeting, the purpose being to include in the record any comments from the Highway Department concerning the proposed location of the Southern Connector. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Meet with Highway Department on Reconstruction of Hinesburg Road Mr. William Fisk said that the Department wanted comments from the city on a proposed project at the intersection of Hinesburg Road and Cheese factory Road. The project is .4 of a mile in length and will cost around $280,000. The grade of Hinesburg Road will be raised and Cheese factory Road will be lowered - the work on that road will go back 400' from Hinesburg Road. Some right of way will have to be purchased. Construction will begin sometime next year. Mr. Fisk said that Hinesburg Road would have 24' pavement width with 8' gravel shoulders and Cheese factory Road would be paved to 22' with 3' gravel shoulders. Mr. Lowell Krassner asked what the objective of the project was and was told it was to eliminate this high hazard area. There have been more than 12 accidents there in a 5 year period, which constitutes a high hazard area. The state is doing spot improvements like this one all over the state. The road widening will go 800' to the south of the intersection and 1400' to the north, and the state feels this is the minimum necessary to make the intersection safe. Mr. Krassner asked if a jug handle had been considered and was told that would not solve all the problems - there would still be poor sight distance. A jug handle would also present more maintenance problems. Mr. Fisk said the state was planning a hearing later this week on the project. He said the funding was 70% federal and 30% state. Regarding the jughandle it was pointed out that if one were installed, there could be accidents if a car stalled in the middle of the road going across, that cars on route 116 could not see each other because of the hills in the area, and that because of the hazard there are no left turns allowed there now. A jughandle would take more land also. Asked about a jughandle and a flashing light. Mr. Fisk said that lights were not effective. Special meeting December 12, 1978 - Consider bond issue for purchase of a parcel of land at White Street and Williston Road and sign warning B. Burgess moved to waive the reading of the entire warning. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. M. Flaherty moved that the Council sign the warning with the insertion in Article III of the amount of $47,000. B. Burgess seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, (copy of warning attached to minutes.) K. Jarvis then moved to sign the resolution (of which a copy is attached to and made part of these minutes) prepared by the City Attorney for the purpose of acquiring land at White Street and Williston Road. B. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The resolution was thus approved by motion of K. Jarvis. Sign resolutions No Parking on Spear Street - P. Farrar read the resolution. (see copy) M. Flaherty moved to sign the resolution. B. Burgess seconded and the motion passed 4-0. No Parking on Brewer Parkway - P. Farrar read the resolution (see copy). B. Burgess moved to sign the resolution. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted aye. Commendation for Mr. and Mrs. Schuele - P. Farrar read the resolution (see copy). K. Jarvis moved to sign the resolution. B. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Consider appointments to Boards and Commissions B. Szymanski said he had two applications for the Zoning Board vacancy and one request to serve on the Fire Advisory Board. The Chair ordered the City Manager to have the two applicants for the Zoning Board vacancy come before the Council at the next meeting for interviews and also to have the gentleman for the Fire Board if he can come. Formal action on Highway Union Contract M. Flaherty moved to instruct the City Attorney, working with the Highway Union attorney, to prepare a contract with the Highway Union which would, for this year, remove the merit pay provision (effective July 1), which the Union requested. B. Burgess seconded the motion and all members voted aye. Pay will be set midway as a result of this action. Consider request for extension of sewer line to serve two homes and a business off White Street. The money the city could use for this project is money left from phase 3 of the sewer program. M. Flaherty moved to authorize the City Manager to expend unexpended funds from phase 3 of the sewer project up to $4,000 for the purpose of installing sewers off White Street. B. Burgess seconded the motion and all were in favor. M. Flaherty asked if some of these funds could be used for the Sebring Road problems and asked B. Szymanski to ask the City Attorney about that. Sign petition for gas main installation on Spear Street and Cedar Glen Road B. Szymanski said the gas company wanted the city to sign a petition to extend the main down Cedar Glen Road, on the east side. He did not see any problems with it. K. Jarvis moved to sign the petition. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and all were in favor. Review waiver of tax penalty charges M. Flaherty moved to receive the report from the City Manager on tax penalty charge waivers. The motion was seconded by B. Burgess and passed unanimously. Review Zoning Board agenda The Council expressed some concern over appeal #2 but felt the Board could handle it all right. P. Farrar asked why the Howard Johnson addition was not coming before the Council under Interim Zoning and asked the City Manager to check that with the City Attorney. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.